Defeated Victors
by huffleclaw22
Summary: Neville and Hannah survived the Battle Of Hogwarts, but they are left emotionally unstable and somewhat broken. The only ones that can comfort them are eachother, and that's all they need. This is how I like to think they got together after Hogwarts. WARNING: extreme angst during certain parts and an undescribed sensual scene. REVIEWS MAKE ME HAPPY. :) Enjoy!


**A/N: **"Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers, to turn on the light."~Dumbledore. **I DO NOT NOT OWN HP characters/objects/locations, etc. JK ROWLING does because she's awesome. REVIEWS MAKE ME REALLY HAPPY. :D:D:D**

* * *

_Downtown London, 1998._

The last memorial service for victims of the Battle Of Hogwarts was today, for a 6th year Hufflepuff boy that Neville didn't know but he'd made it a point to attend all of the services. He recognized many of the Hufflepuffs from his own class; Ernie MacMillan, his girlfriend Susan Bones, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Megan Jones, Leanne, but where was Hannah Abbott?

Neville remembered Hannah from being partnered with her in Herbology and from Dumbledore's Army meetings. He'd always thought she was nice and considered her a good friend. "Excuse me?" Neville asked, approaching Ernie and Susan.

Ernie spun around "Oh...hi Longbottom," he said.

"I-I, I was just wondering if anyone's seen Hannah?" Neville asked.

"Abbott?, no I haven't seen her yet." Ernie replied with a shrug at Susan. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason really, sorry for bothering you I just figured because I've always seen you guys with her." Neville shrugged.

"The service is starting, I'm starting to get worried about her Ern, perhaps she's not coming?" Susan glanced at Ernie.

Ernie looked around the room once more "Maybe not, nah it's Han though, she wouldn't miss something like this, would she?" Susan shrugged.

"Hey guys, hi Neville," Justin Finch-Fletchley greeted, walking over to join them.

"Hi." Neville managed a small smile.

"Justin, have you seen Hannah?" Susan asked worriedly.

"No, is she not here yet?" Justin asked.

"No one's seen her." Ernie told him.

"Oh, well isn't the service about to start?" Justin asked.

Ernie shrugged "Yeah. It's odd, Han wouldn't pull something like this."

"I-I can go look for her," Neville offered.

"Really? Sure thanks Neville!" Ernie said.

"Hurry though, we'll save two seats just in case," Susan said.

"Okay," Neville smiled and rushed out of the large banquet hall. Ernie, Susan, and Justin took their seats.

* * *

Neville was walking past the bathrooms when he heard sniffling coming from the ladies room. "Hannah?" he wondered aloud.

No answer and more sniffling. "Hannah? Hannah Abbott is that you?" Neville called through the door.

"Wh-who's there? Ernie go away!" came a girl's voice followed by a choked sob.

"Erm, it's not Ernie, it's me...Neville Longbottom!" Neville told her.

"I don't care who it is, please leave me alone!" Hannah sobbed. Neville entered the bathroom anyway.

He looked under all the stall doors, finally he spotted a pair of ruby flats underneath the last one. "Hannah?" he gently opened the locked door. "Alohamora."

"MERLIN'S BEARD!" shrieked a lady with curly red hair, sitting on the toilet. Neville's face went a deep shade of scarlet "I-I-I'm so sorry..." he stuttered, slamming the door shut and putting his wand back in his pocket.

Just then he heard more sniffling. "If...if you must know...I'm under the sink." Hannah sniffed.

Neville spun around to see Hannah Abbott sitting under the sinks with her knees tucked into her chest as she sobbed into her hands. Her face was bright red and blotchy, her usually neat blonde hair was in a low, messy, bun, and her usually bright and cheerful amber eyes were bloodshot and filled with tears.

"Hannah?" Neville questioned. "What's wrong?" he asked, gently approaching her. The red haired lady left the bathroom, giving them a funny look.

"Neville, oh...I-I-please just leave, I don't want anyone to see me like this, there's...there's nothing...you...can do," Hannah sobbed, blowing her nose in the skirt of her long, black dress.

Neville lifted the tail of his dress robes and tucked himself under the sink beside her. "Try me."

Hannah looked up at him, shocked. "Excuse me?"

"I said, try me. I killed Voldemort's bloody snake! I'm not scared of a girl crying." Neville told her, suddenly feeling quite bold.

Hannah sniffled, tears streaming down her face. She reached for her skirt again. "Here," Neville handed her his handkerchief.

"Th-thank you," she stammered, wiping her eyes and blowing her nose. Neville cringed slightly.

"No problem," he replied as she handed his handkerchief back.

"God, I've flown off the handle, I should just go check my snivelling self into St. Mungo's," Hannah whispered bitterly.

Neville shook his head "Don't ever say that, I assume you know about what happened to my parents by now, I've been inside that place and the people there...trust me, Hannah, that's not you. That will never be you."

Hannah's eyes were welling with fresh tears. "I know, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have said that! Oh look at me, sobbing under the sink like a ninny for merlin's sake! I'm a mess." she choked.

Neville awkwardly patted her back "Shh, it's okay. Now can-can you tell me what's wrong?" he asked gently.

Hannah wiped her eyes with her hands, staring up at him. "Please get me away from here, I-I just can't handle one more memorial service," she admitted.

"Sure. How about some butterbeers on me at the Leaky Cauldron?" Neville asked, grinning.

"I-I'd like that...thank you," Hannah stuttered.

"Great," Neville stood up and helped Hannah to her feet. He grinned again "Let's go tell your friends we're not staying, they were worried about you."

Hannah blushed "I feel so stupid." She washed her face with cold water in the sink.

Neville smiled "Don't worry about it, I won't tell," he told her with a wink. They snuck back into the banquet hall, Hannah's friends were seated in the back. Hannah tapped Susan, who spun around in her seat. "Hannah! Thank God where were you?!" she hissed.

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine, but I just don't think I can handle another memorial service, I'm sorry," Hannah whispered.

"You're leaving?" Ernie whispered.

"Yeah," Hannah replied. "I'm sorry, I just can't."

"Han, were you crying again?" Susan asked knowingly.

"Just...I'm fine now, really," Hannah told her.

"How are you getting home? Who did you come with?" Justin asked.

"I-I walked," Hannah said.

"You shouldn't be alone right now," Susan told her.

"I'm not, Neville said he take me for a butterbeer," Hannah replied.

"Oh, alright, see you later?" Susan asked.

"Maybe," Hannah managed a weak smile.

Neville gave her his coat "It was nice seeing you guys," he said, leading Hannah out of the building.

* * *

"Here we are," Neville grinned, bringing over a large basket of chips, four butterbeers, and a large slice of raspberry pie that he'd picked up at the bar.

"Thanks," Hannah smiled with a sniffle. Her eyes were still bloodshot.

Neville took a handful of chips. "Feeling better now?" he asked.

"A-a bit," Hannah mumbled shyly, gingerly sipping her butterbeer.

"Care to tell me what all that was about back there now?" Neville asked, concerned. He took a swig of his own butterbeer.

"I-I...just one too many memorial services so close together," Hannah replied, nibbling on a chip.

Neville reached across the table and took her hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. "I understand, it's difficult, losing so many people that close together."

Hannah tiredly ran her fingers through her long, blonde hair. "It's so hard, Neville. I just can't do it alone anymore, no one understands," she whispered.

Sitting across from her with the light of the dimly lit pub shining over her, Neville was finally able to fully take her in; she looked horrible. "I know." he muttered, not bothering to hide his own feelings anymore.

"No you don't," Hannah said, her sadness suddenly turning into anger.

"Yes I do," Neville stated simply.

"NO! NO ONE WILL EVER UNDERSTAND!" Hannah shouted, standing up. Her butterbeer nearly fell off the table due to the vibration. Everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was staring at them, Neville blushed.

"Hannah-" he started.

"NO!" Hannah yelled. "I've lost too much too soon! Too many people have lost their lives in the past year and I cannot take it anymore! I can't take it! Oh God I can't!" she screeched hysterically, knocking the pie off the table, it crashed to the floor.

"Dear God I'm so foolish! I'm a snivelling, whiny lunatic! I'm insane for merlin's sake!" she continued in her frenzy.

"Hannah please-" Neville stood up, touching her shoulder gently.

"Don't touch me! Please! Just stop caring about me! Why does everyone feel bad for me? Don't show me any affection or I'll lose you too!" she yelled.

Neville shook his head "I swear I'm not going anywhere. Look we've all lost people-"

Hannah turned on everyone in the Leaky Cauldron "AND YOU! ALL OF YOU! Judging me! I've been judged my entire life and I am DONE!" she screamed, proceeding to knock all of the butterbeers and the chips to the floor also. Glass shattered and butterbeer drenched chips scattered the floor.

"Han-"

"STOP IT! Leave me alone Neville!"

"Hannah-"

"Just leave me to my misery! I'm insane and you know it! Just leave me to sob hysterically, I feel so stupid! I feel so foolish!"

"No, Hannah. People cope in different ways, you've been through alot, we all have, people like us have the right to be upset. You can cry if you want to, no one will judge under these circumstances." Neville told her gently, awkwardly patting her back.

"NO!" Hannah shouted in her frenzy of fury. "I cry about everything! Those cruel Slytherins were right, they've always been right! I'll always only and ever be Sniffeling Hannah Hufflepuff! Flamingo Girl! Nothing else! I'm good at nothing! I was the crazy girl who thought Sirius Black was a shrub!-"

"Hannah!" Neville shouted.

"Don't interrupt me!" she snapped. "I'm the girl who had a panic attack in Herbology and needed a calming draught because I was too stupid to take my OWLS. and then failed my transfiguaration exam by turning a ferret into a flock of bloody flamingos for merlin's sake! You're a hero, you killed that snake and led the DA, what have I done? Nothing special. Nothing. I'm hopeless!" she finished, shaking with sobs.

"Stop it!" Neville snapped back. "You're so much more than those nicknames the Slytherins gave you. So what about all of those things you've done, look at what a doofus I used to be and still am! I broke my wrist during our first flying lesson, I let a bunch of Cornish Pixies in Lockhart's class hang me from the candelabra, I'm still just clumsy, silly Neville Longbottom, the Herbology nerd. Yeah so what I killed Voldemort's snake and led the DA, but I don't feel like a hero. I still feel like the clumsy nerd I used to be. You're nice to people Hannah, and that's why they like you. You've made some stupid mistakes but so has everyone else. You're good at alot of things, including Herbology, you were always a great partner. During seventh year when I needed a friend the most, you were always there for me, now I'm going to be there for you whether you like it or not."

Hannah's face fell and she stopped shouting, she collapsed to the floor against their table. No one in the Leaky Cauldron dared to speak, they just stared. "Neville," she whimpered.

"Hannah?" Neville knelt down beside her.

"I-I-I feel so-so...broken," she sobbed.

"It's alright, you've been through so much. I know what it feels like to lose parents, I know what it feels like to lose friends." Neville told her.

"I know you do. You must think I'm so foolish, so selfish, acting like a little girl who thinks she's the only one in the world who's in pain right now!" Hannah cried.

"No, I don't actually. I understand," Neville said.

Hannah sniffled and wiped her eyes, she managed a small smile "Really?"

"Really," Neville grinned, hugging her.

"I've been meaning to tell you...tha-that was brilliant the way you killed that snake. You said you don't feel like a hero-but you are. You led the DA in Harry's absence. You stood up to those awful Carrows. You aren't the clumsy Herbology nerd anymore, you're one of the bravest, most courageous guys I've ever met, you're amazing and I feel so safe around you, you are a hero Neville. You're my hero, you're Hogwarts's hero." she whispered into his shoulder.

Neville grinned "Thanks. Come on Han, its alright now, its all over, you don't need to cry anymore, celebrate even! What's lost is lost, we can't dwell on it forever."

Hannah looked up at him "I feel so stupid Neville, I can't even look at you, Oh God I'm so foolish, I'm so broken!" she sobbed, falling into one of her recurring moodswings and turning away again.

"You're not stupid, you're not foolish, you're-" Neville started.

"WHAT? WHAT AM I NEVILLE?!" she pulled away and was shouting again.

"My-my friend," Neville told her gently.

Hannah's eyes went wide and she stood up quickly. "YOUR FRIEND?!" she roared.

"Y-yes," Neville stuttered.

"IS THAT ALL I'VE EVER BEEN TO YOU?!" she screeched.

"Uh..yes? No? Maybe? Oh Hannah I-I'm so confused, " Neville had no idea what to say.

"I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED YOU NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM!" she sobbed, running up the staircase to the inn part.

* * *

Neville stared after her, eyes wide and mouth agape. "What the-?" he muttered.

Tom was already cleaning up the mess by their table. "I-I'm so sorry-" Neville stammered, his face going scarlet again.

"Quite alright Mr. Longbottom, ya know you're pretty famous yourself these days," Tom grinned. "Free butterbeer on me."

"Thanks," Neville managed a weak smile and sat at the bar. Tom slid him his butterbeer and Neville decided to drown out his own sorrows.

"Well look who it is, its Longbottom," came the always unpleasant voice of Draco Malfoy, plopping down beside him. He'd ordered take-out and was picking it up.

"What do you want?" Neville asked bitterly. "Haven't you tortured me enough all these years?"

Malfoy smirked "What's with Abbott? Or should I say, Hannah Hufflepuff the biggest crybaby Hogwarts has seen is centuries?"

"Shut up Malfoy. Don't you dare talk about her like that," Neville told him through gritted teeth.

"So is she your girlfriend Longbottom? I thought you liked Loony Lovegood. I'm noticing a pattern, you fancy all the crazy girls!" Malfoy teased.

"Shut up Malfoy." Neville repeated, clenching his fists. Malfoy just had to remind him of his painful encounter with Luna after the Battle Of Hogwarts when he'd asked her out and she'd rejected him. "Malfoy number seven," Tom slid Malfoy's order across the counter.

Malfoy smirked "No wonder you don't have a girlfriend, you can't even see what's right in front of you. When a girl _actually _likes you you're totally oblivious," he got up. "See ya around," he said before leaving the Leaky Cauldron with his take-out order.

Neville was completely dumbfounded, he felt as though someone had just cast stupefy at him. Was Malfoy right?

"Can I have another?" Neville shouted to Tom, who nodded.

Tom slid him two more butterbeers, which he downed quickly. If he was going to give Hannah what she wanted, he'd need as much courage as he could get, and under the current circumstances getting drunk was the quickest way to do so. "Tom! Hit me with a firewhiskey!" he shouted.

* * *

Hannah sat in her room at the Leaky Cauldron, she hadn't told Neville she lived there now. She had nowhere else to go. She grabbed her hairbrush and undid her messy bun, then she undressed, throwing her black dress to the floor in exchange for her light blue nightgown.

She brushed her wavy, long blonde hair in the mirror. She couldn't stop thinking of how she'd acted in front of Neville, she had to stop letting her moods get the better of her. She walked into the bathroom and turned on the sink, and washed her face of all of her sorrows...for now atleast.

Just then there was loud, obnoxious banging at the door. "Hannah Abbott, you open this door!" Neville yelled.

"What the-?" She ran and opened the door to an extremely wasted Neville.

"Don't-" Neville slurred, cutting himself off by kissing her.

Hannah was shocked as pleasure surged through her very veins. "Oh...Neville-" she gasped as he pulled away.

"Is that what you wanted?" he asked gleefully. "I got drunk or else I wouldn't have had the-the courage-to do that!" he exclaimed, totally and utterly wasted.

"Shut up." Hannah pulled him into her for another kiss, her nimble fingers undoing every button she could get her hands on.

"Han-" Neville slurred, his face filled with delight. He picked her up and they both collapsed onto her bed.

"Shut up for merlin's sake!" Hannah giggled, undressing Neville to the point of him only being in his undergarments.

"Okay," Neville mumbled. His left hand searching for her nightgown straps as he stroked her hair with his right.

"Fix me Neville," Hannah commanded. "For merlin's sake, just fix me!"

* * *

"Oh merlin's beard Neville!" Hannah panted, resting her head against his bare chest.

"That-that-that was amazing..." Neville breathed, his eyes tired. His sobriety was coming back a bit.

Hannah gave him an exhausted smile. "My dreams have come true," she said in a voice that reminded Neville of the innocent first year who was terrified of the Sorting Hat and going first, the sweet Hufflepuff who shared his love of Herbology but not of Mandrake screams.

Neville grinned sleepily "Hannah?" he asked, gently tilting her face up to look him in the eyes. "I love you too, I just never realized it until tonight."

"Do me a favor," she whispered.

"Anything,"

"Hold me, just hold me and don't let go."

"Okay," Neville hugged her tightly and pulled the covers up around them. "You aren't broken by the way Hannah, I used to think I was broken too, but then I realized something downstairs after a few butterbeers, we're not broken, we're just defeated victors," he whispered into her silky blonde hair that smelled of apples. Hannah mumbled something inaudible into his shoulder, she was asleep. Neville grinned.

**EL FIN!**

* * *

**A/N: **I know, kinda cheezy. I just really love Neville/Hannah. I've always wondered how Neville and Hannah ended up together, and after something like the Battle Of Hogwarts there's bound to be alot of angst within many of those students, and angst can sometimes bring people together. This is how I like to think they started their relationship. **REVIEWS MAKE ME HAPPY. :D**


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